Hi! We’re back with another Top Ten, where we approach our favourite DJ’s and producers and get them to select ten of the best of whatever they fancy be it music, movies, film stars, books…whatever!

For this second instalment we are very happy to have Cork’s upcoming House music producer and Delicious supporter, Shane Linehan.

Shane has been a very busy boy since the last time he was on the Delicious Mix Sessions Blog (his excellent DMS mix can be found HERE) following up his Basic Grooves 1 EP with another helping on his own label Basic Grooves entitled, funnily enough, Basic Grooves 2. He has also had material on Mad Mats upcoming House label “Local Talk” and there are remixes in the pipeline for Dave Pezzner and George Davis on the labels Finale Sessions & SAFT respectively. Shane’s music is available at all good online stores and you can check most of them out HERE.

A self confessed fanatic of the classic New York/New Jersey sound, we were delighted that he decided to compile his top ten with tracks/tunes from that genre and here is what he had to say…

Top Ten | Shane Linehan’s New York House Grooves

“Hey everyone, this is Shane from Basic Grooves and this is ten of my favourite New York house tracks.

The New York sound is something I have been fascinated by since I got into house about 7 years ago. I really dig the chunky beats and soulful grooves that are typical to the New York/New Jersey sound. I try to get this vibe across in my productions. The following was supposed to be my top ten, but I couldn’t make up my mind, so instead it’s ten of my favourite NY tunes, in no particular order. Some obvious, some perhaps not so much, but these are all tracks that are very dear to me and highly influential to me. I really enjoyed putting this together and I hope you enjoy checking them out. Feel free to drop me a line with any questions or enquiries.”

Essence- Just a Touch

This is a track that I think aged really well. Silky smooth synth action, chunky bass and then there are those stabs! I would say that this is one of my favourite Strictly Rhythm tracks and definitely my number one Wayne Gardiner production. I first heard this track on Sub FM, when I was just getting into deep house- “where can I get a copy?”

Dee Dee Brave- My My Lover

A great example of garage house that I feel really captures that New Jersey sound. Fat beats and chord stabs bringing the vintage Kerri Chandler style. I first heard this track when I went to see Kerri play in Club One in Cork, it was one of my first house gigs that cemented my love for the New York sound.

Blood- Peace in the Nation

When I owned about 20 records this one was of them. I used to play it every week on my show on Sub FM. I think it’s a track with a lot of character and a great example of Pal Joeys style. For me it was always a track that had a great sense of mystery about it, could have been down to the mysterious label (mine doesn’t have the stamps on it). Its stuff like that I love about collecting records. Always makes me smile.

Rudoulpho- Touch Me

I discovered this on a compilation called ‘Underground Dance Music’, which came out on Ibadan around 2006, which also featured ‘Peace in the Nation’. I really dig the groove, the beats, and of course, that vocal.

Leon Neal- People Don’t Change

A classic New York track that I’ve loved since I first heard it. I was lying in bed one night, listening to the Go Deep radio show, still feeling the effects of the party, and this came on. I fell in love instantly, what a vocal!.. and an interesting message.

Jazzie Joint- Give a Little Love

A Frankie Feliciano production, and what a production at that! I think this is a great example of a simple, well put together track. This track was very influential for me when I made ‘The Future’ not sure if that comes across, but anyway. Sean Galvin introduced me to this one back in the days of, you guessed it, Sub FM.

Cloud 9- Do You Want Me

Classic Victor Simonelli action from way back in 1993. Its hooks like this that make great tracks, gotta love that vocal too! I think this track captures that garage vibe perfectly. I first heard Shane Johnson play this at one of the Go Deep birthdays. Simple and well executed (the chord sample is from Surface- ‘Falling in Love’). Mr Simonelli- take a bow.

Masters at Work ft India- I Can’t Get No Sleep

I don’t need to tell you how great this track is. I got this when I bought a bunch of about 20 records off a guy when I started playing- “they’re all classics” he told me- he wasn’t lying.

Mood II Swing – Sunlight in My Eyes

From ‘The Scenic Route’ EP. I would say this is one of my favourite Mood II Swing tracks. Its a colourful, feel good track that I’ve always really digged. The way those chords glide and the way that vocal is cut, fantastic! I picked this up second hand in Plugd Records in Cork.

Loop Trick- Beat Freak (Pal Joey Action 1)

I came across this randomly on a mix one day. Its’ a fantastic piece of sample based house music, done the way only Pal Joey could do it. Snappy beats, jazzy stabs and “Action”. Buy it HERE.

Quality choices I’m sure you will all agree!

Big thanks to Shane for taking the time to put that together and for his constant support of the show and blog.

Fresh ingredients on this show included tunes from upcoming Cork deep house don Shane Linehan and Prime Numbers latest signing Nick Sinna. On the label front Belfast’s Seven Music and Dublin’s Apartment Records are represented while digging deep in the Delicious crates unearthed forgotten gems by Pleasure, Ray Mang and MFSB.

Eoin at the controls for this show featuring plays for Dublin producer Lerosa on Apartment Records, for techno don Steven Tang and Mark E with his excellent release “Oranges” on seminal label Spectral Sound.

In the third installment of our feature “Delicious Labels” we take a trip up North to Belfast, the birth place of the Titanic, Georgie Best and the home of the excellent Seven Music!

The brainchild of Ric McClelland and Sean Grieve, Seven Music is quickly getting a reputation for quality electronic music. With 16 releases already under it’s belt since its inception in 2011, we can only see big things happening for this innovative and interesting label.

Always a big fave of the Delicous Mix Sessions, we are especially digging the recent Volta Cab “Caribbean Undercover” EP with it’s excellent Mark E remix but make sure to check out the equally impressive Seven Music Vol. 1 – a collection of tunes from label artists Robotalco, Sandoz, Volta Cab & Stephen Day and the massive Giorgio Luceri “Upstairs” EP which features a killer remix from slow house don Andy Ash. All are available digitally and on vinyl HERE

We caught up with Ric who has been a big supporter of our show since day 1 and he gave us the low-down on breaking into the record industry!

Delicious Labels | Seven Music

How did it all begin?

I had been toying with the notion of starting my own label for years. A lot of people in the industry just think its the done thing, so I was always over cautious! Last year though, everything just felt right and I was as comfortable with the idea as ever. We (myself & Sean Grieve) launched the label in May 2011. The first half of the year was spent planning and once we had all our ideas in the pot, we launched in May. We had a few set backs straight away though.. Our concept was for releasing vinyl as well as digital downloads, but we had to start as a digital only label until we got our physical distribution deal in place at the end of the year. From the start of this year, we are now firing on all cylinders and as we originally planned.

What are the ingredients for a successful label?

Ha ha, we are still working on the recipe. Seriously though, I think it takes a huge amount of time and dedication. In the digital age there are so many micro labels, run by artists and primarily for their own output. Although Sean and I are producers, we won’t be hogging the release schedule and Seven Music isn’t just about us or for us. We are looking to discover and showcase new and established talent. We’re in it for the long run. We’re so far from where we want to be and have massive plans. We are also trying to build a family of artists. We don’t want to sign 1 offs. We want to develop our label while establishing friendships and lasting relationships. So I suppose the answer to the question is time, dedication, loyalty and a vision!

If you could go back ten years in time and sign any act, who’d it be and why?

10 years ago was a very inspiring time for me. Classic Recordings was ruling the roost, pushing a fresh and forward thinking style of House music. Bob Sinclar’s Africanism was creating amazing music too and I suppose we were in the middle of the West Coast House explosion! I’m more into ‘music’ than ‘names’ or artists. I suppose anyone involved with the above would have been a solid signing.

Which producers/artists are really catching your attention at the moment?

Again, I don’t want to focus on ‘names’ too much. Someone who I like now could probably be knocking out garbage next year lol. That aside, I like the artists who are leaving ‘House’ music behind for the moment and focusing more on original ‘Dance’ music. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a House music artist and all my peers are too, but I respect the guys who are pushing the boundaries a bit more these days and experiment with non-conventional tempos, sounds and recording techniques. House music has become a parody thanks to Beatport and Resident Advisor etc. People need to re-connect with their souls (and brains), wether that be when listening to music or making music.

What direction do you see electronic music moving in 2012/13?

As I mentioned above, it’s all becoming a lot more retrospective. Sub genre walls are being broken down and people are starting to feel music again rather than worry about what BPM or key it’s in. The same sensibilities are being applied as would have been years ago, before people knew what House or Techno was. They just made music to get people dancing or create a mood or feeling. As long as its not for the sake of it, change is a great thing. So I think 12/13 should see lots of diversity in music!

How many demos do you have to deal with every week?

It goes up and down. Some weeks 5-10, other weeks maybe 30. We are still a young label though.. I’m sure big labels get about 500 a week lol. I have to admit, we haven’t been sent anything too bad. On the other hand we don’t get sent much that blows are socks off. We are continually tightening our belt in terms of demos. As Gilles Peterson says, we’re “in search of the perfect beat”!

…And what makes one stand out above the others?

As soon as a I hear a run of the mill 120-125 bpm ‘in the box’ style deep houser I’m turned right off. Dont get me wrong.. There is lots of amazing 120-125 bpm deep houser’s, but Sean and I are looking for exciting electronic dance music. That could be what people see as House, Techno, Bass, Disco, Downtempo, Drum & Bass, whatever.. We are looking for ‘original’ music regardless of genre!

What projects/artists have you got in the pipeline and we should be getting ready to buy?

Out today (7/5/12) we have our 14th release which is a various artists 4 track EP with Volta Cab, Baldo, Stephen Day and Robotalco. On the 21st of May we have a new EP by Giorgio Luceri with a great Andy Ash remix, then towards the end of June we have a quality 4 tracker by Kastil. Over the summer and later on this year we have more amazing music by Orlando B, Eddie C, Autodeep & Deepchild, South West Seven and Club Silencio 🙂

Three words on illegal downloading?

‘I don’t care’. Seriously though, I’ve given up caring. It’s part and parcel of the music industry now. It’s a level playing field from Madonna to Kerri Chandler. I think any self respecting human who claims to DJ or love dance music will spend the money on a download, CD or vinyl. These are the people we are concerned about connecting with us as a label 🙂

Tasty new tracks for this show included the brand new NY-ak Police sampling “Echoes” on Paper Recordings and the Irish-Italian connection that is Lerosa on Apartment Records. The retro section was covered by Mood II Swing with their seminal track “Move Me” and the rather raunchy “The Second Coming” by Dionne which is the b-side to her Summer of Love anthem “Come Get My Lovin'”.

Mike going solo for this one. Irish producers Shane Linehan and Check the Guns get deserved airings as does Volta Cab on Belfast’s Seven Music, Norman Nodge on Prime Numbers and house music maverick Vakula with his excellent remix on Ornate Music.